Pillowcases of conventional construction are well known and comprise a rectangular bag, closed on three of its four sides and open on the remaining side (usually a transverse edge) to permit a pillow to be inserted into and withdrawn from the pillowcase. A decorative cuff, formed either by folding the edge of the material onto itself or by attaching a cuff of a separate, complementary material, is formed around the open end of the pillowcase.
Conventional methods and apparatus for manufacturing pillowcases all involve forming the pillowcase out of a single piece of fabric which is folded in half at some point during the manufacturing process. The resulting fold forms one of the three closed sides. The fold may be disposed along a transverse edge, with the adjacent longitudinal sides stitched closed; or the fold may be disposed along one longitudinal edge, with the remaining longitudinal edge and a transverese edge stitched closed.
There are basically three different methods known in the prior art for manufacturing pillowcases on a mass-production basis. In one method, an elongated piece of fabric having a width approximately equal to twice the length of a finished pillowcase is conveyed along a predetermined path. Cuffs are formed and chain-stitched along the two lateral edges of the fabric, and the fabric is folded along its longitudinal center line to bring its cuffed edges together. A length of the folded fabric is fed through a cutting station and cut to a length approximately equal to the width of a finished pillowcase. The cut length of folded fabric comprises a rectangular workpiece having a fold along one transverse edge and a cuff along the remaining transverse edge. The longitudinal edges of the rectangular workpiece are then stitched closed, and the stitched workpiece is turned inside out to reveal the cuff and conceal the seams of the pillowcase.
In a second method, an elongated piece of fabric having a width approximately equal to the desired length of a finished pillowcase is conveyed along a predetermined path. A cuff is formed along one lateral edge of the fabric, and the cuffed fabric is fed and cut to a length equal to twice the desired width of a finished pillowcase. The resulting rectangular panel is folded along the center line perpendicular to the cuffed edge to form a rectangular workpiece which is cuffed along one transverse edge and folded along one longitudinal edge. The remaining longitudinal edge is stitched closed, and then the remaining transverse edge is stitched closed. Finally, the workpiece is turned inside out to complete the manufacturing process.
In a third method, a piece of fabric having a width equal to twice the width of a finished pillowcase is fed and cut to a length which is the width of a cuff longer than the desired length of the finished pillowcase. A cuff is formed across the width of the fabric, and the fabric is then folded along a center line perpendicular to the cuffed edge. The resulting rectangular workpiece has a cuff along one transverse edge and is folded along one longitudinal edge. The remaining transverse edge is stitched closed, and then the remaining longitudinal edge is stitched closed. Again, the manufacturing process is completed by turning the workpiece inside out. The pillowcase formed by this third method is similar to the pillowcase formed by the previously described second method in that the resulting pillowcase is folded along one longitudinal edge and stitched closed along the opposite longitudinal edge and one transverse edge. However, the products of these two processes differ in that a pattern or print which runs the length of the raw fabric will run parallel to the cuff in the pillowcase of the second method, but will run perpendicular to the cuff in a pillowcase constructed by the third method.
Whichever of these three prior art methods is used, the step of folding the material in half is the single most demanding step to accomplish, since it is very difficult to align the edges of the folded panels accurately with one another. Further, apparatus for performing this folding step is expensive to manufacture, requires a considerable number of moving parts, and is a high-maintenance item.